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Volunteers Plant Trees at Wyngate Estates to Curb Erosion
By DAN COPPStaff Writer
Eleven-year-old Chase Highland could have spent his Saturday morning playing in the yard like other kids his age but instead chose to volunteer his time planting trees.
 | Photo by Dan Copp
Kyle Duvall of the Tennessee Environmental Council assists Alderman Rick Graham in planting a tree last Saturday at the Wyngate subdivision to curb erosion problems.
|  | Photo by Dan Copp
Volunteers plant trees at the Wyngate subdivision to prevent further erosion.
|  | Photo by Dan Copp
David Huebner fills buckets of water to be used to water the newly planted saplings.
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The youngster knew if nothing was done about the erosion problems plaguing his neighborhood, there soon wouldn't be much of a backyard for him in which to play.
“I wanted to help the environment,” Highland said as he dug a hole near the bank of Grassy Branch Creek. “Me and my friends like to play around the creek, and it just gets bigger and bigger.”
The 11-year-old was one of dozens of shovel-wielding volunteers who planted about 115 tree saplings April 14 along Grassy Branch Creek at Wyngate. The conservation effort was funded by a $7,000 grant from the Duck River Opportunities Project and a $300 investment by Wyngate Estates.
Wyngate Estates Homeowner's Association President David Huebner said the effort began a year ago when he met with Tennessee Environmental Council Director John McFadden.
“A year ago (Ward 2 Alderman) Jonathan Duda e-mailed me and told me about John McFadden, who also works for the Harpeth River Water Shed and the Duck River Opportunities Project,” said Wyngate Estates Homeowner's Association President David Huebner. “We met numerous times, and last June I presented our Wyngate board this idea of bringing in trees to give a bigger shade and buffer zone to protect the creek, and they accepted it.”
Huebner said McFadden personally inspected Grassy Branch Creek and located 90 points of erosion.
“Whenever the water hits those trees on the bank, it's eroding them,” said Huebner. “We want to restore those 90 points using a process called revetment. It's a process where you plug cedar wood, cedar twigs, leaves and well-placed fasteners into the bank and put dirt behind it. Then the grass grows and restores the bank and keeps it from eroding.”
Kyle Duvall, organization advancement director for the Tennessee Environmental Council, said the 115 saplings were indigenous to the area and included white oaks, chestnut oaks, bur oaks and scarlet oaks.
“We call this area a watershed, which is simply the area of land that drains or sheds into a river system,” Duvall explained. “In this case, this creek is one of the subsystems. It's kind of like arteries and blood vessels to your heart. If you clog them or pollute them, you have all sorts of problems.”
Aside from providing streams and rivers with buffer zones, trees yield other benefits as well, Duvall said.
“They've found from having trees that there's a reduced chance of asthma,” the environmentalist said. “We're living in one of the most bio-diverse areas anywhere on earth. There are all sorts of species of aquatic life, insects and other critters. It's incredible. This is all about water quality. If affects not only your water but your air quality as well.”
Duvall said the state is cracking down on developers that are not providing adequate erosion control.
“Silt is the biggest problem we have in polluting or streams,” he said. “When you see even a small tributary that's dry, wait until the rainy season. If you have poor erosion techniques, that mud goes right into that tributary and goes down stream and causes more problems.”
Volunteers Hunter and Anna Bowker of Spring Hill were galvanized to pick up shovels and join in the preservation effort when they noticed the lack of foliage along Grassy Branch Creek's bank.
“It'll be nice having these trees out here, especially along the creek,” Hunter Bowker said.
“I knew they were planting the trees and that it would give a pretty view for us,” added Anna Bowker. “Plus, it helps prevent the creek from washing everything away.”
Wyngate resident Ann Twiselton had become weary of the erosion problems in her backyard and decided to do something about it.
“I live on this creek, and man, it's been a mess out here,” the volunteer said. “I've lost half of my backyard. I just planted 10 trees by myself right behind my property so it helps hide all the traffic that goes through here.”
“This creek is for everybody at Wyngate,” added Huebner. “But people are losing their land to the creek, and we want to make sure that doesn't happen.”
Staff Writer Dan Copp can be reached at dcopp@c-dh.net
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